HYDERABAD, 19 July — The ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh is likely to win just nine of 22 districts in local polls with opposition parties gaining even in its strongholds.
Both the main opposition Congress party and the fledging Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) have captured seats at the expense of the TDP, according to latest results for the district committees or zila parishad territorial constituencies (ZPTC).
Results show Congress nominees could be chairmen in 10 zila parishads. The party is likely to enter into alliances with the TRS and left parties to ensure wins for its members. The TRS, launched to fight for separate state of Telangana, has made an impressive debut winning in three districts.
Chief minister and TDP president Chandrababu Naidu conceded that results fell short of expectations and said the party would do a detailed analysis. TDP was virtually wiped out in the Telangana region, bagging just two seats — Mahabubnagar and Adilabad — of the nine. The Congress is set to capture four districts — Medak, Rangareddy, Nalgonda and Khammam — and the TRS won in the districts of Nizamabad, Warangal and Karimnagar.
The ruling party also lost bastions in the Rayalaseema and the coastal regions.
Polls were held to 1,094 ZPTCs, of which results of 923 have been announced. The TDP won 426, the Congress 382, TRS 69, Communist Party of India-Marxist 13, Communist Party of India 12 and Bharatiya Janata Party nine, with independents and others picking up 10 seats.
ZPTC members in each district will now elect a chairman and a vice chairman for zila parishads July 23.
The results will not immediately affect the stability of the TDP government but the party is worried that it’s fast losing ground at the grass roots. TDP leaders fear losses in these polls could trigger further reversals in other local body elections in the coming months. Polls are also due in the gram panchayats or village councils, and cooperative bodies and municipal corporations in the cities of Hyderabad, Tirupathi, Hindupur and Rajhmundry.
Naidu has conceded that the TDP had underestimated the opposition, but alleged that people had been misled by promises of impossible things like free power, unlimited unemployment and irrigation everywhere. Some say the friction between the TDP and its ally BJP also caused its downfall. Though the two parties had an electoral understanding in 12 districts and agreed upon “friendly contests” in others, state BJP President C. Ramachandra Reddy said TDP cadres did not cooperate.
For the Congress and TRS it was time to rejoice. State Congress President M. Satyanarayana Rao said the people had taught a lesson to TDP and TRS founder K. Chandrasekhar Rao added: “It is just the beginning toward our goal to achieve separate state.”
